Chaska’s heroic kicker and last-second touchdown throws by Crosby-Ironton and Waseca quarterbacks highlight the week of high school football

Chaska coach Bryan Dahl doesn’t mind putting senior kicker Quinn Meyer in pressure situations, especially against St. Thomas Academy.

Meyer booted a 42-yard field goal as time expired Wednesday, giving the Hawks a 24-21 come-from-behind victory over the Cadets at Gerry Brown Stadium in Mendota Heights.

Last season, Meyer booted a 37-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation to give Chaska a 35-34 win over the Cadets in overtime.

“It was another close, hard-fought game, as they always are when we play St. Thomas Academy,” Dahl said.

Chaska (4-4) scored 10 points in the final five minutes and pulled even at 21-21 when senior running back Morgen Engeman scored on a 2-yard run. The Hawks got the ball back on their 49-yard line with 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining.

“We were trying to move the ball to around the 30-yard line to have a kick to win the game,” Dahl said. “Our offense was able to get the ball down to the 25-yard line and run the clock down to two seconds. Our team has a lot of confidence in our kicking game, and Quinn has a big leg. He put a great kick on the ball to win the game.”

Chaska scored on all four of its second-half possessions after the Cadets (5-3) took a 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

‘They dominated the first half,” Dahl said. “We talked to our guys at halftime about needing to play with more energy and just compete. We were able to get an interception to start the second half and score a couple plays later. That gave us life and jump-started our energy. Our offense did a great job in the second half.”

Junior quarterback Matthew Welter accounted for the Hawks’ first two touchdowns, scoring on a 19-yard run in the third quarter and throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Tyler Forrest early in the fourth quarter.

“Our players and fans were fired up after completing the comeback,” Dahl said. “We are proud of our kids for how they competed after halftime and to be able to fight back and beat a good St. Thomas Academy team.”

-1 Yards Austin’s offense finished with in a 59-0 shutout loss to Mankato East (6-2).

2.2 Seconds remaining when junior quarterback Keyon Wesner hit classmate Eldon McLean with an 11-yard touchdown pass, breaking a 14-14 tie and giving Crosby-Ironton a 22-14 victory over Hinckley-Finlayson. Senior Evan Rydberg scored Crosby-Ironton’s first two touchdowns on runs of 6 and 46 yards. The Rangers (2-6) won their last two games of the season.

2.4 State-leading points per game allowed by Class 3A No. 1 Stewartville during the regular season. The defending state champion Tigers (8-0) have shut out five of their past six opponents, including Rochester Lourdes 50-0 in Week 8.

5 Interceptions by Class 1A No. 1 Minneota (8-0) in a 54-0 shutout of Dawson-Boyd. The two-time defending state champion Vikings have won 28 consecutive games.. They shut out half of their opponents this season.

5 Rushing touchdowns in back-to-back games for Armstrong senior running back Kevon Johnson. He ran for 309 yards on 34 carries, scoring on runs of 1, 3, 6, 28, and 82 yards, as the Class 5A No. 4 Falcons (8-0) edged No. 5 Andover 57-56 in double overtime. Johnson finished the regular season with 1,667 rushing yards on 173 attempts, averaging 9.6 yards per attempt with 29 touchdowns.

10 Yards on the pass freshman quarterback Kellen Klinger threw to senior wide receiver Damarius Russell for a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining, giving Class 3A No. 5 Waseca a 20-19 triumph over No. 8 Fairmont. The Cardinals (6-2) missed a 30-yard field goal as time expired. Klinger passed for one touchdown and ran for another in the first half, when the Bluejays (7-1) built a 13-0 lead.

41 Touchdown passes thrown by Moorhead sophomore quarterback Jett Feeney during the regular season, 16 going to classmate David Mack. He threw five touchdown passes as the Class 5A No. 1 Spuds (8-0) beat Sauk Rapids-Rice 49-14 in Week 8 at Jim Gotta Stadium.

52 Points scored by Two Harbors (7-1) in the first half of a 59-0 shutout of Hibbing. Senior running back Zach Libal had four rushing touchdowns before halftime, scoring on runs of 5, 10, 13 and 70 yards.

69.6 State-leading points per game for Nine-Player No. 2 Mountain Iron-Buhl (8-0) during the regular season. The Rangers beat Bigfork 76-6 in Week 8.

96 Yards on Hermantown sophomore running back Martin Sleen’s game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Hawks’ 31-19 victory over Duluth Denfeld. He ran for 261 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns for the Class 4A No. 10 Hawks (7-1). The game put Sleen over 1,000 yards (1,094) with 17 touchdowns this season.

99 Yards on a state record-tying touchdown run by Mankato West senior Frank McAninch in the fourth quarter of the Scarlets’ 17-6 victory over Rogers. Class 5A No. 8 Mankato West (5-3) led 10-7 lead at the time. McAninch also had 12 tackles, two for loss, from his linebacker position.

366 Rushing yards by Kingsland senior running Zach Reiland on 17 carries with five touchdowns as the Knights beat Houston 38-28. It put him over 1,000 rushing yards (1,032) for the season. He also caught a touchdown pass in the game.

“I’m a big believer that turnovers come from being in the right spot at the right time. Any time you can turn turnovers into points, it’s a good thing.” — Brainerd coach Jason Freed to the Brainerd Dispatch after the Warriors (4-4) returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a 39-20 victory over St. Francis. Senior defensive backs Ty Nelson opened the scoring with a 60-yard interception return in the first quarter, and Chad King sealed the victory with a 22-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter.